Long Island, Battle of (27 August 1776). On 27 August 1776, British general William Howe embarked from Staten Island in New York, with all but one of his brigades, for Gravesend Bay beach on the southwestern tip of Long Island. General George Washington's outpost line, from Brooklyn Heights along the shore from the Narrows, was quickly reinforced with nearly a third of the entire American army. On the night of 26–27 August, Howe struck Washington's main position. Had this attack been pushed, all American forces on Long Island could have been captured. As it was, realizing his danger, Washington withdrew to Manhattan on the night of 29– 30 August without interference from the British.

Bibliography

Gruber, Ira D. The Howe Brothers and the American Revolution. New York: Atheneum, 1972.

Tiedemann, Joseph S. "A Revolution Foiled: Queens County, New York, 1775–1776." Journal of American History 75, no. 2 (September 1988): 417–444.

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